The Virgin Birth Illegitimate - The Nativity of Jesus Christ - Bill Zuersher

The virgin birth of Jesus is the Christian doctrine that Jesus was conceived and born by his mother Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit and without sexual intercourse. It is mentioned only in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38, and the modern scholarly consensus is that the narrative rests on very slender historical foundations.

The ancient world had no understanding that male semen and female ovum were both needed to form a fetus; this cultural milieu was conducive to miraculous birth stories, and tales of virgin birth and the impregnation of mortal women by deities were well known in the 1st-century Greco-Roman world and Second Temple Jewish works. Matthew and Luke use the virgin birth (or more accurately the divine conception that precedes it) to mark the moment when Jesus becomes the Son of God, in distinction to Mark, for whom the Sonship dates from Jesus's baptism,[Mark 1:9-13] and Paul and the pre-Pauline Christians for whom Jesus becomes the Son only at the Resurrection or even the Second Coming.

The Eastern Orthodox Churches accept the doctrine as authoritative by reason of its inclusion in the Nicene Creed, and the Catholic Church likewise holds it authoritative for faith through the Apostles' Creed as well as the Nicene. Christians, including Protestants, traditionally regard it as an explanation of the mixture of the human and divine natures of Jesus. Nevertheless, there are many contemporary churches in which it is considered orthodox to accept the virgin birth but not heretical to deny it.

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Time-stamps
0:00: Introduction
6:02: Virginity in the ancient Jewish world
9:47: The nativity of Jesus: unpacking the story
16:38: Possible precursors to the story: biblical and pagan
25:14: Geopolitical context of the rising of Christianity
29:07: Is the virgin birth borrowed?
32:44: Hardships that the virgin birth impose on Christianity
47:56: Historical implications of this doctrine
53:09: End of presentation and remarks from Derek
57:07: Validating virginity: a funny story from the Babilonian Talmud
1:04:10: Why did the Magi stopped at Herod’s palace if they already knew the way?
1:09:34: Why do the gospel authors inserted a genealogy?
1:12:50: Is Bill Zuersher a mythicist or historicist?
1:15:25: What was the influence of the gentiles on the virgin birth motif?

#VirginBirth #Nativity #MythVision

[jasonnelson]

Also cool to note that Mary was told in the 6th month of the Hebrew Calendar that she was preggo. The 6th month magically falls under the Virgo\Virgin Zodiac sign. John the Baptist was listed as 6 months older which puts John under the Aquarius Zodiac. Aquarius is interestingly the Water Bearer. They did a great job composing this literature.

[gailascari]

When he said he fights for the seperation of church and state, I knew I would like this guy!

[outofmanyweareone]

We never learn any of this in church. Why does churches have teachings(bible study) 3 times a week if they are going to lie? I always questioned these stories.

[theautoman]

Even before the Greeks the Egyptians had already stated that their pharaohs were sons of god immaculately conceived. Two Pharaohs even have it in stone in their temples.

[leontinehillenaar]

Why is killing Jesus such a bad thing when the Jesus dying on the cross is the bases of Christianty. If Jesus had died of old age where would this religion be?

[richarddimartino]

Immaculate conception is not the virgin birth. It is a doctrine by the RCC which says Mary was also free of original sin.

[hollyshippy]

What is fascinating is how increasingly the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are being studied as artifacts of a by-gone time. So much of both scriptures have very little, if anything, that is relatable to the present day. And so much of Paul's writings deal with theological disputes that have virtually no bearing on or relevance to 21st Century life. Even Bible studies that begin with enthusiasm and prayers for understanding and discernment end in boredom and bewilderment, with the participants revving up interest in arcane arguments and a lot of First Century misinformation and religious propaganda that falls flat from exposure to critical thinking ... and demonstrating that misspent religious passion is simply misspent religious passion, regardless the century or the religion. You do an amazing job, Derek, getting this much needed information out to believers and non-believers alike. Keep up he good work.

[lreadlResurrected]

Bill Zuersher is awesome. I just finished his book and it's excellent, start to finish.

[squeakD]

You can prove the church wrong on the “virgin birth” forcing them to acknowledge it’s false, yet they will still teach it to be true. You can prove the resurrection false, and they’ll still teach it as well. They know much of it is lies, but they need Christians to believe it’s true. The more educated our society has become, it’s shocking that people still cling to obviously false claims from the Bible. The Abrahamic religions are well beyond their expiration dates.

[rochesterjohnny]

Someone who didn't exist can be born however the writers want it to be presented

[davidwright]

Derek - many thanks for a stimulating and thoughtful channel! Nary a dud so far, and I've watched many. My own take on all this is as an ex-Catholic kid who no longer believes in any kind of supernatural. But the cultural/historical perspectives, is fascinating. You're a great inteviewer - informed, kind, but not afaid of raising contradictory points.

[BlGGESTBROTHER]

"Danae was impregnated by Zues via a golden shower." Wow, so you're telling me Zeus was into watersports? Kinky!

[theenlightenedone]

I just read,
"Our Sun God or Christianity Before Christ."
Awesome book!!

[johnmcgrath]

An early medieval Catholic theologian - I thing Albertus the Great or Alcuin - consulted with rabbis and concluded that this passage was not a prophecy of Jesus.

[jonkomatsu]

Great guest! Will snag his book.

And puh-leeze--get him back again! Mahalo! 🤙

[Cocreatewithus]

I am watching this on Christmas Eve, 2023. Very ironic. It sucks because it blows the Nativity and Christmas itself to pieces, right when I'm getting ready to sorta kinda "celebrate " with my little family. Lucky for me, I have known about most of this for years. Very excellent presentation, I must say.

[donovanwint]

This programs concept of the Jesus story is among the best I have heard, and falls heavily within the boundaries of my own thoughts on the subject and, acceptance of the idea that He is an Historical figure taken out of context and obviously completely out of the possibility of reality.
The Pauline Christian movement and eventually Christian Church used the opportunity of the presence of Jesus and the Jesus movement to build a new Religion that is in line with the other Religions, pagan mostly with some form of the Hebrew Religious beliefs mixed in.
Bless you both for this enlightening program.

[mnamhie]

Wow, Bill Zuersher. I absolutely love his book, Seeing Through Christianity. I highly recommend it. Excellent.

[timothymulholland]

In much of Latin America, Catholicism has a strong popular vein and has gotten syncretized with parts of Native and African religions. Mary is not one, but hundreds, each named for one of her virtues or an event in her mythic life. Her images (idols) have been found miraculously all over, in a tree, a river, etc. She is worshiped as much or more than Jesus, because of her power in intercession as the Mother of God. The devout often identify with one of her apparitions or one of hundreds of saints, said to intercede as well. Children get named for a favorite version of Mary or saint. There is at least one male and one female saint for each day of the calendar.

[darrelgustafson]

Big fan of Bill. I hope he gets more exposure.